The Fire Still Burns: My Philosophy of Life

 This is the final paper we wrote for our English 12 class this semester. It's not perfect, but I thought I'd share it here. It's nice to get a piece of writing out every so often, and this one is a little different from my usual fare. So, here we go.

Loss of empathy might well be the most enduring and deep-cutting scar of all, the silent blade of an unseen enemy, tearing at our hearts and stealing more than our strength~ Drizzt Do'Urden, The Silent Blade.

            On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty, to God and my country, to obey the Scout Law, to help other people at all times, and to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent~ Scout Oath and Law.

           

           When I was asked to concoct a Philosophy of Life, two questions immediately sprang to mind. The first was, “How am I going to do that?” The second was, “Do I even have a Philosophy of Life?” The first question was easily answered, as I write papers all the time and have proven to be at least semi-capable of farting out something legible in the span of a half hour or so. The answer to the second question proves to be more difficult, because I certainly do not want to just crap this paper out without putting any thought into it, and it provides an interesting point of introspection. Of course, everyone should have some sort of philosophy by which they guide their actions, even if that philosophy is not immediately apparent. So what moral code do I, then, live by?

Where I'm Going To Be

Well, it's that time of year again. Midterm exams. >_>

To be fair, they aren't all that difficult, and my grades have been pretty good this year, but still, I need to study a lot, so don't expect much new content here. I'll do my best to start posting regularly again over break.

While I'm here, after writing my Chrono Cross review, it seems like I've been leaving important details out of my reviews. I'm trying to improve my writing process accordingly.

If there's anything you'd like to see from this blog, email me or comment.

See ya in a week or so!

Chrono Cross Delayed, and Future Plans.

I'm really loving Chrono Cross. The game is one of the best Playstation RPGs I've played, with a really interesting storyline, great music, and a fun combat system. Unfortunatly, I have exams coming up, so I won't be able to play as much as I would like for the next week or so.

On the plus side, I'm on the part where you got back to Fort Dragonia and get Serge's body back, so I'll hopefully be able to play for a couple hours this weekend. After exams, I'll try to beat the game and have my review up before Christmas.

After Chrono Cross, my next game will depend on what games I end up getting for Christmas. I will hopefully be playing and reviewing both Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Xenoblade Chronicles as soon as they come out, and there are quite a few other new games coming out soon that I am eager to play. I'm hoping to find and play the Digital Devil Saga games for PS2, but I want to finish the games in my backlog before buying any older releases (I need to play Xenogears, Vagrant Story, and Final Fantasy IX). I'm also planning on obtaining the Xenosaga trilogy and the .hack games (the original series and .hack// G.U.) when I'm in college and have a bit of income from whatever work I can find.

Anyways, that's all for todays update. I've got a lot of great gaming to look forward to in the future. Any games you're planning on playing soon? Post them in the comments.

                                                   Easily the game I'm most looking forward to purchasing once I have time.

Prose Poem

This is a prose poem I wrote the other day for my Creative Writing class.








Last Trip To LJs
Peter Triezenberg

Down the road, across the street, and to the left if you walked from the college, they opened the familiar doors and were immediately struck by the pleasant scents of warm coffee and melted chocolate. Sitting down, the girl looked at her shaking hands, while the boy quickly removed a few crumpled bills and walked to the counter. When he returned and sat down, his movements were brisk, to the point. “Well?” he demanded. The girl looked up, and she could barely see him through the liquid mirrors forming in her eyes. “Well?” The voice grew harsher, mocking her from several hundred feet away, on the other side of the table. “Explain.” She winced, withdrawing her shaking hands to her bruised midsection, feeling lingering pain from her last attempt to explain her wrongdoings. The drink arrived, but it sat uneaten, except for when the boy lazily tipped the spoon through it, mixing swirls of snowy cream and dirty chocolate as the girl desperately tried to tell him why she had done what she did, and trying to understand herself. He looked up, fire burning where she saw water. Slowly, coldly, every word that came from his mouth was an attack, a frozen needle gouging a beating pincushion in her chest. His voice rose, his rage evident, all she could do was look at the drops of perspiration on the table, ashamed and frightened.

But when they left, there was no anger, no shouting, and no tears. There was only wonder, and silence.